Haevey coale



PATENTED FEB. 16, 1904.

. H. GOALEL BOTTLE CLOSURE. APILIOATION FILED JULY I'I 1903.

H0 MODEL.

UNITED STATES- Patented February 16, 1904 PATENT OFFICE.

HARYEY COALE, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

BOTTLE-CLOSU RE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N0. 752,521 dated February 16, 1904.

Application filed July 1'7, 1903. Serial No. 165,983. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, HARVEY COALE, of the city of Baltimore and State of Maryland,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Closures; and I do hereby declare that the following specification, taken in connection with the drawings furnished and forming a part of the same, is a clear, true, and complete description of my invention.

My said improvements pertain to that general class of closures which include cork sealing-disks employed as in the well-known crown-cork system, wherein said disks are compressed upon the lips of bottles and maintainedunder sealing contact and enabled to resist heavy internal pressure by appropriate metallic caps',each having been made to tightly conform to an appropriate locking surface on the bottle,

The objects of my invention are to enable cork disks to well protect the metal of the caps from corrosion and to guard bottled liq-' I uids against metallic taint and, further, to obtain the substantial advantages accruing from the use of high-grade cork sealing-disks at sufliciently less cost to result in substantial economy and, still further, to obtain with the best of cork better sealing-disks than when the cork has been used as heretofore.

In the manufacture of high-grade disks it is seldom that cork of such initial bulk and expensive quality is used ascould profitably be worked into long corks, especially corks of large or even moderate sizes, and hence much of the stock practically available for sealing-disks as heretofore produced has been appropriate thickness in planes at right angles to the length of the inevitable open elongated pit-holes 'or streaks common to cork, and much cork is unavailable for disks as hereto- 5 fore produced because of an excess of pitholes in quantity as well as in lateral dimensions, resulting in many waste disks.

In producing my novel disks not only can much quite low-grade cork be utilized, but

from the same piece such thinner slices as can be utilized in the production of my novel disks, such material having heretofore largely constituted waste stock of little value. Even after such additional slices have been out there often remains material from which still thinner slabs or shavings may be cut for use in the formation of my novel disks, and especially if areas are afforded in such shavings greater than that of the disk desired.

It is now to be understood that my invention (having reference to its main value) consists in the combination,with a suitable metal-lic sealing-cap, of a sealing medium composed of thin layers of cork firmly united and, further, of a sealing-disk composed of firmly-united thin layers of cork having its elongated pit-holes parallel with the axis of the disk and so that the pit-holes in either layer are ofiset and substantially closed by cork parallel with. the flat sides of the disk,

and also so that one of said layers, serving as an interior portion of the disk, will be faced by one or more additional layers.

To more particularly describe my invention I willrefer to the accompanying drawings, in 1 which Figure 1 in diametric section illustrates, on anenlarged scale, a sealing-cap composed of hard metal of the Well-known crown variety and containing a desirable form of my novel sealing-disks, the heavy curved dotted line approximately indicating the face-line condition when under compression on'a bottle. Fig. 2 is a perspective sectional view of one-half of one of my novel disks, such as is shown in Fig. 1. Fig; 3 illustrates a block of cork bark which has been partially cut into thin slices preparatory to their appropriate rearrangement and union in packs each of aggregate thickness suitable for sealing-disks. Fig. 4: in top view illustrates a pack of firmly-united slices, or several such packs, with cut sealing-disks still remaining in the pack; and Fig. 5 illustrates an irregular slab or shaving of cork, a common type of waste cork capable of use in solidly building up blocks of stock, which hav-.

ing been cut into slices may then be packed and sealing-disks cut therefrom, such disks being quite serviceable, although less desirable than when composed of continuous or complete layers of cork.

Referring now to Fig. 1, it is to be understood that the metallic sealing-cap A may be of any form adapted to contain a sealing-disk and to properly cooperate therewith on a suitable bottle. As clearly indicated, my novel sealing-disk B is composed in this instance of three thin layers of cork a a a, substantially of equal thickness and, as illustrated at the diametric cut surfaces, the pit lines, streaks, or holes I) in either of the outer layers abut upon or against solid cork in the middle layer, the pit-holes in the latter abutting at both ends upon solid cork in the outer layers. It will be a rare occurrence for such holes in the next layer and still more'rare (if ever) would the holes in the three layers register, and even should such registration occur no objectionable openings would be liable because of the presence in the mouths of the pits or holes of more or less of the adhesive or binding medium by which the layers are firmly united. With said binding medium of such character and so applied as to firmly unite the layers and yet extend only into the mouths of the pits the cork in each layer is in its practically natural resilient condition, and hence the product disks have strength and resiliency substantially equal to or greater than those developed from slices of cork of the same thickness as the disks, and therefore the use of my novel disks assures the substantial advantages accruing from the use of the highest grades of disks heretofore'employed.

Referring now to Fig. 3, it'is to be understood that the top of the cork block C is shown to be in this instance the inner (or tree) side of the bark and that the slices 0 are cut to such thickness as will assure their proportionate bulk in the sealing-disk desired. The pit lines, holes, or streaks d, as is common with cork, are frequently numerous and are often of considerable lateral dimensions and variable in length. The growth-lines 6 indicate each years accretion, this varying in different trees as well as in years, according to varied seasons and climatic conditions.

The slicing of the layers, as will be seen, is

' crosswise of the pit-holes and streaks and substantially parallel with the growth-lines, it

being understood that the normal curvatures in the bark are initially eliminated as far as possible by heating and pressing the bark flatwise. It is also to be understood that many of the streaks or pit-holes are not absolutely open apertures, but are more or less obstructed by fine loose accretions from the bark and more or less dusty or earthy matter, which offers but little obstruction to the passage of air or liquid.

Although I have shown sliced layers of equal thickness, it is to be understood that the thickness may be varied, a very desirable disk being assured by having the outer layers thinner than that in the middle or by having four layers of proper thickness to afiord the desired thickness of finished disks, which are usually one-eighth or one-ninth of an inch. In all cases where regularly-sliced cork is used the slices should be disarranged from their normal relations or positions, as by reversing faces or by a lengthwise or sidewise displacement or using slices cut from difl'erent blocks or any other change which will practically obviate the registration of pit-holes or streaks in the several layers. derstood that for securing the best results the adhesive or binding medium for uniting the layers should be of such a character as to not materially contribute to the thickness of the disks or unduly stiffen them, and the latter are, as usually, ultimately thinner than the "normal aggregate thickness of the sliced cork,

because (for producing the best results) after the binding medium has been applied in forminga pack the whole is subjected to heat and appropriate pressure.

The cutting of the disk B, as indicated in Fig. 4:, is effected from either surface of a united pack of slices, several of such packs being presented as one to the action of the usual revolving tubular cutters.

As tothe binding medium there are many adhesive bodies or compounds obviously suited for the purpose indicated, and while I do not limit myself thereto I will state that good results will accrue by the use of refined animalglue in appropriate solution and employed with heat and pressure, as hereinbefore indicated. As hereinbefore indicated, the adhesive matter should be and is of such a character and is so applied to the surfaces of the layers that it will merely fill the mouths of the open pits and be' incapable of impairing the natural resiliency of the cork, the product disks being capable of being washed, sterilized, and otherwise processed or treated as with-the high-grade solid cork heretofore used with metallic sealing-caps.

Now referring to Fig. 5 it will be understood that irregular shavings f are closely built up into solid blocks with a thin-glue solution and united under heat and pressure and then sliced, as if it were a natural block of cork. Such slices afford fair material for disks, especially when faced with thin inte- In this use of shavings it will gral layers.

It is to be further unbe seen that whatever the relations of pitholes to surfaces may be these layers can perform good service, whether as intermediate,

layers in a disk or as a backing to an integral or complete layer serving as a facing. Disks having thick bodies and thin integral facings being very desirable, I will further state in that connection that they can be economically produced by properly stacking into blocks layers each about one-half the thickness of disks required and then slicing through every second layer, leaving in each pack an intermediate or body layer intact, whether composed of cork fragments or of integral cork, however the latter may have been cut with relation to pit-holes. I have hereinbefore referred to the growth-lines of the cork and to the cutting of the slices substantially parallel therewith, and it is to be understood that while regular corkdisks have heretofore been so cut there is a special value in so cutting the thin facings for my novel disks in that when compressed, as when applied to bottles, the cork facing, however thin, has suflicient tensile strength to assume its varied surface contour without breaking or cracking.

It is to be understood that I do not intend by use of the term disk to exclude the ring or gasket form of cork seals, it being obvious that with any form of cap-seal the value of my invention will be realized, although to a greater extent with the disk form.

Having thus described my invention,I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Pat- 5 ent 1. The combination with a metallic sealingcap, of a sealing medium composed of thin layers or slices of cork firmly united, all in their natural resilient condition, and having the pit-holes in any one layer ofiset by solid cork in an adjacent layer, substantially as described. c l

2. A sealing medium composed of thin layers or slices of cork firmly united by suitable adhesive matter, each layer in its natural resilient condition, the pit-holes in any one layer being offset by solid cork in an adjacent layer, substantially as described.

3. A sealing-disk composed of thin layers or slices of firmly-united cork in its natural resilient condition, the sides of which are parallel with the growth-lines of the cork and have the'usually open pit-holes or streaks in the cork of any one layer offset and closed by solid cork of an adjacent layer, substantially as described.

4. A sealing-disk composed of layers of cork in its natural condition as to resiliency firmly united, one of said layers serving as an interior portion or body of the disk, and ad'- ditional layers serving as a complete facing or facings, substantially as described, said disk having the characteristics of solid cork in its natural condition.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARVEY COALE.

Witnesses:

HOWELL BARTLE, CAREY CoALE. 

